The Humming Room

In Perkins Cave, Washington County, VA, the Humming Room is well known as a place for sound to reverberate at certain frequencies. These resonance frequencies are easier for males to produce than females. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever identified the exact pitch required. It appears that the frequency range is limited, and is clearly in the normal voice range. Maybe we need a musician to identify the Humming Room’s frequency range.

For the reverberation to occur, the singer or hummer must be in a specific area, this area is no larger than15 square feet; however, the listening area is very much larger. This phenomenon appears to be a reverberation controlled by the shape of the area above the humming person and the size and shape of the room. The harmonic hums sound pleasant, and I suspect singing might be enhanced for certain vocalists and songs.